


soft as swan feathers

by transvav



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Fantasy, M/M, Magic, Princes, Verbal Abuse, a literal dickbag, also edgar who is, i guess, oh my, someone please kill him he is hurting my sons, swan lake AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 02:09:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8779009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transvav/pseuds/transvav
Summary: The thief found himself in quite a strange clearing.The princes found themselves at the end of their ropes.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, my name is K. This fic is endorsed by the anons that sent me the idea for this au. I don't know what the word endorsed means and quite frankly I'm too fucking lazy to look it up. Thanks, guys!

The thief found himself looking at quite a strange clearing.

He’d been on his way from the bay area towards the main kingdom, hoping to find a place to sell his questionably obtained wares. After this batch he’d have been set. Never have to had stolen again.

But naturally, he’d gotten lost. It was south-east to go to Regus Bluff, he was sure, but dammit, he really did not fucking understand how a compass worked, and now he was in the middle of nowhere with a pack of stolen things and a few snacks. The forest was dense, as they always tended to be, and there wasn’t a clear path in sight until he came across a fence.

A strangely well kept fence, shimmering slightly, intricately and almost too perfectly carved. There were no signs of wear, no leaves growing upwards, no vines twisting around each post. And past the fence was this clearing that he stared out onto.

The area was surrounded by a steep cliff face that faced westwards. The grass was a deep green and a fine meal for the cows that grazed upon it- he counted about a dozen as he dropped his bag and strode along the length of the fence. Just past the cows was a lake, lily pads floating on the water and dragonflies making ripples as they skimmed across the surface. It reflected the afternoon sun beautifully and he stood, entranced for a while.

A noise near his head caught his attention and he turned, glancing around for the source, but his sight caught a building. A castle. 

What the fuck.

Like the rest of the area, it gave off some type of feeling. Something unnatural but enthralling. He stood, again, simply staring at it for a while, listening to the sound of birds and cows and the wind in the trees for who knows how long.

After a moment, the thief shook himself and turned away. He only had a certain amount of daylight, and god knows he didn’t want to waste it.

He made his way back to his bag and began to shoulder it on, preparing to leave, when a bird chirped louder than the others and startled him into dropping it again. He turned and spotted the offending avian.

It was a small lark. It hopped on the fence excitedly when he looked at it, chirping again and fluttering it’s little brown wings excitedly. Curious, he stepped forwards- when the little bird didn’t startle away, he bent down in front of it and smiled.

“Hello, little one,” he cooed, and the bird chirped cheerfully in response, hopping around on the fence. “What’s up?”

The lark whistled once and suddenly took off, circling a tree just past the fence before landing on one of the lowest branches. It chirped at him again.

“Man, I can’t do that,” he answered. “It’s private property!”

The bird chirped once more, insistently, fluttering about on the branch. 

“Jesus, alright,” he mumbled, and hopped the fence. A cheerful whistle came from the little lark and it immediately flew down to him. It landed on his shoulder and pecked once at his earlobe, nipping at the skin slightly. “Haha, you’re a friendly strange thing, aren’t you?”

He held out his hand and the bird hopped onto it, whistling and chirping at him continuously. “My name’s Jeremy.”

The bird made a quick, three toned noise that made Jeremy shake his head to clear it. It almost sounded as if the bird had repeated his name back to him- like the bird had understood. He huffed out another quick laugh. “I think I’m going insane, little buddy.”

The lark fluttered its wings and took off again. This time it made it’s way over towards the herd of cows, landing on one bull in particular and pecking at its head before coming back to him and whistling. 

“I’m not going over there.”

Whistle.

“I’m not!”

Chirp, whistle.

“Good god. I’m talking to a bird.”

A little chittering noise. Laughter? Was this bird fucking laughing at him? Holy shit.

He slumped down against the tree, sliding until his butt hit the ground, and brought a knee up. The lark moved to his knee, making soft noises as it fluffed its feathers and hopped about. Eventually it sensed that Jeremy had decided to stay there for a while and got comfortable, reaching around with its head into its wing as it started to preen. Jeremy let his head thunk against the tree trunk, looking up at the leaves and inspecting how the sky had been darkening slightly. “Hope you don’t mind if I stay the night,” he murmured. “Probably not gonna make it to the kingdom tonight.”

A soft snort to his left had him stiffen slightly and he turned to find the bull from before staring at him. There was a long, terrifying moment before the bull slowly turned towards the bird on his knee and snorted again. The bird stopped preening and looked over. The two animals stared each other down before the lark chittered again and the bull huffed, turning back to Jeremy and nudging against him slightly. Very gently, he pressed a hand to the top of the bull’s head, and when nothing _bad_ happened he began to pet it slowly.

“This is fine,” he whispered to himself. The bull’s ear twitched. “I’m petting a very big bull with _very_ sharp horns, and there is just. A bird. On my leg. This is fine.”

The bird chittered and the bull snorted. “Are you fucks laughing at me?”

The bull only laid down beside him and rested its head on his lap, avoiding hitting him with its horns. The bird fluttered over and landed on one of the horns and made a few more soft noises. Jeremy continued petting the cow’s fur softly, humming a song he couldn’t quite remember the name of, or where he’d heard it from before. He almost half-expected the bird to join him- across the sea, he knew, was a kingdom full of little songbirds like this one and from what he’d heard from travelers, those birds were inclined to sing along with whatever they heard. But the lark stayed strangely silent, only watching him curiously.

Jeremy smiled and let himself slip away into a small nap that he believed he deserved.

He woke up what felt more like a few minutes later when the bull’s weight was lifted from his lap. Blearily, he sat up a little further, rubbing at his eyes and getting his bearings again. The sun was starting to set slowly in the west, slowly approaching the edge of the cliff surrounding the area. 

“Fuck,” he whispered, and the bird chittered at him from where it was sitting on the bull’s horn. “God, you couldn’t have let me sleep any longer?”

The bird chirped at him again, and the bull turned to give him a very tired look. They stood just at the edge of the lake. The lark hopped down and placed its feet into the water, whistling lowly at him and fluttering its wings excitedly. The bull snorted and nudged its companion softly and they both settled down slightly, their heads turned towards the sun as it began to dip behind the cliff.

Jeremy was in the process of beginning to stand up and find his stuff to set up camp somewhere nearby as the sun finally disappeared. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and started to explain himself, but something cut him off. A soft humming noise came from behind him and he turned to see- Well, he wasn’t really fucking sure.

There was a soft light that seemed to be surrounding the two animals, the lake glowing with the reflection. Enveloped in the light, Jeremy couldn’t see either the bull or the lark, but he could tell _something_ was happening. Each glow seemed to be lengthening, like they were getting taller, like they were becoming something else. Like-

Like humans.

Which, unsurprisingly, was what he saw when the light faded. Two taller _humans_ , men to be exact- the one in place of the bull spitting grass out of his mouth, and the one where the lark had been stretching tall and cracking his neck. Jeremy slipped down the tree trunk again, wide eyed and stunned into silence as he thumped down onto the ground.

The bird- person- _whatever_ jumped slightly at the noise before glancing down to Jeremy and grinning brightly. He began to stride over and knelt down next to him, still smiling. “Sorry about that, love,” he said, and oh, that was an accent. He recognized that accent. 

The other man came and sat on Jeremy’s other side, brushing his hands through his own long hair and using a small thread to tie it back into a loose ponytail. “It takes a bit out of us to change like that, especially after all the shit Gav was pulling earlier when he saw you.”

“...uh-huh...” Jeremy managed, still in mild shock, but they both smiled at him- the man on his left’s smile a bit more tired. He took a moment to look at them a bit more closely.

The man on his left was classically handsome, with his long blond hair and strong jawline. He had soft blue eyes and a bit of stubble, and was wearing a thick, fur lined cloak that looked like it matched to consistency of the bull he had replaced. The belt on his kilt was loose, and long in the back, and the longer part was laying between his arm and Jeremy’s. If Jeremy looked at it long enough, he could have sworn it moved, flicking at something occasionally. 

The man on his right- Gav, was what the other one called him- had windblown dirty blond hair and bright green eyes, with a nose that seemed to have perfectly matched the beak the bird had sported before. His cloak was made of feathers- hell, there were feathers _everywhere_ on him, hanging from his ear, strung around his neck, nestled among his soft looking hair. 

“My name’s Gavin,” the man on his right said, and gestured to the other man. “And that’s Ryan.”

“...Jeremy.”

Gavin giggled. “We know, silly.”

“Right,” he mumbled. “Yeah, of course.”

There was something familiar about both of them that was bugging him, and it took him another moment to recognize what it was. 

“Oh, _god_ ,” he gasped, looking between them again. “Oh, my god- you guys are the fucking lost princes, holy shit.”

“Good to know we’re still remembered,” Ryan muttered with a hint of bitterness, but it mostly just sounded tired.

Jeremy was taken aback. “They’re still _looking_ for you.”

“Well, of course!” Gavin said beside him, strangely eager. “He’s just a bit upset that he didn’t eat enough grass today.”

Ryan huffed indignantly and glared at Gavin, who lost himself in giggles again. Jeremy, meanwhile, took a few seconds to process what was happening for the third time that night. 

“So you two really...”

Both of the princes looked questioningly at him. “What, the big transformation thing with the magic didn’t clue you in? Yes, we’re the fucking bird and cow,” Ryan said, seeming annoyed.

“Ryan,” Gavin scoffed, reaching over and batting his shoulder. “Give it a mo’. You know as bloody well as I do that this sort of thing doesn’t happen every day.”

“I guess so,” Ryan replied.

“How does this happen- is it, like, every night, or-”

“Mostly every night, yes,” Gavin said, settling back and pulling his feathery cape around his shoulders. “When we can’t the moon, we don’t. If it’s cloudy, or like every new moon. It’s just animals. All the time. It’s pretty terrible.”

“But _how_?” Jeremy pleaded. “What on earth caused this sort of thing? Last I’d heard on the streets is that you were kidnapped and no one could find you!”

Ryan heaved a long and heavy sigh, glancing over across the way to the castle. “I think we’re lucky, tonight, Gavin. I don’t think he’s coming.”

“Thank god.”

“Who’s not coming?” Jeremy asked. Gavin smiled at him, a lot more genuinely this time, and leaned against the tree with him.

“A very not nice person.”

“Understatement,” Ryan said quietly.

“Shush,” Gavin murmured, his eyes cast down at his hands. Jeremy noted that he had picked a few of the yellow dandelions from the ground and was focused on tying them together. “The man that took us- he’s a pretty powerful mage. He wanted to marry us- either one was fine, he said. He wasn’t choosy, I guess. But we said no, I mean, of course we did. Some crazy asshole just takes you out of nowhere and asks you to _marry_ him? You’re bound to say no! Would _you_ say yes? Of course not!”

“Gavin, you’re rambling again.”

“...right. No, I knew that. Okay. So of course we said no, right. And then he just- smiled. Said we’d change our minds. And I remember thinking something like _not bloody likely, you lunatic,_ when something happened. And it didn’t feel right. And then-” he paused, blinking a few times, looking off across the lake.

“It just was,” Ryan continued. “I was a bull, and he was a bird. It just _was_. The mage- Edgar- he told us that until the time one of us accepted his proposal, we’d be stuck in this cycle. Every day, we’d be the animals. Every night, we’d transform back. And so on, and so on, and so on. It’s been like this for god knows how long.”

“And no one _notices_? No one comes by?” Jeremy asked. There was a heavy silence for a moment and Ryan looked carefully to Gavin- when the other prince didn’t respond, Ryan pursed his lips.

“We think the area’s enchanted to be hidden,” he said. “There have been... others. But not many. And none of them-”

“But it’s okay!” Gavin suddenly interrupted, a forced cheer in his voice. “It’s really okay, we’re used to it. Someone’ll properly come along someday to get us out. Eventually!”

He stood and took the flower chain with him, wandering off towards bushes near the cliffside that held other patches of flowers, like violets and tulips. Jeremy watched him go, noting how with his cape fluttering behind him it looked wing-like. 

“Are- were your clothes enchanted too, or-”

“Listen,” Ryan said in a low voice, and Jeremy jumped at how close he suddenly was. “Gavin and I have been here a _long time_. We’ve had failed heroes. We’ve had people appear out of nowhere, wandering and lost, to stumble upon this area. And they have always promised help. And each time they have _failed_. It wasn’t their fault, of course. Edgar is a fucking _powerful_ mage. But each time they have died. And I’ve had to pick up the pieces.”

Jeremy shuddered slightly and the prince sat away from him, turning back to watch Gavin pick at marigolds. “Gavin is- hopeful. He’s energetic and he doesn’t let things get him down. But when people come and promise you freedom, when they try their hardest to do their best _just_ for you, and they die doing it? It’s shattering. And Gavin is very prone to that- to the guilt it brings when someone dies for you. Some of them even got attached enough to want to court him, I could tell. Those hit him _hardest_ and, well, I don’t think he can take much more of it. Any more of it at all.”

Ryan turned back to him, his blue eyes sharp. “If you’re going to stay, or visit, fine. But no reward is worth the destruction you’ll leave behind if you promise something and fail.”

“ _Reward_?” Jeremy asked incredulously. “Fuck, man, if I’m gonna save you two it’s not going to be for some fucking reward- it’s because you _shouldn’t be here_. This isn’t okay at all! What kind of asshole would only try to save you for some reward?”

Ryan’s gaze softened and he seemed genuinely taken aback. He smiled sadly. “You’d be surprised,” he answered, and stood, striding towards Gavin quickly. Jeremy watched from the tree as Ryan reached him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Gavin seemed to shake for a little bit while Ryan murmured in his ear, pulling him close and resting his head under his chin. There was peace, for a bit.

And then a crash resounded from the castle and both Ryan and Gavin turned and _ran_ towards Jeremy, making frantic motions with their arms towards him. Ryan continuously looked towards the castle, worry etched into his features, and Gavin got to Jeremy first, helping him to feet.

“You need to hide- beyond the fence, go, go! He can’t see you!”

He pushed Jeremy away and the thief stumbled slightly before dashing away and hopping the fence. He grabbed his back and went a few trees in before stopping just behind one- it was thick, and well placed, and he could see the area clearly without being seen.

Gavin and Ryan stood on one edge of the lake, Ryan pushing Gavin behind him slightly as they both stared towards the castle.

The door slammed open dramatically and Jeremy would have been impressed if he didn’t have any idea who was about to come out.

The mage- Edgar- strutted pridefully into the clearing, his hands clasped together and a wide smile on his face. Jeremy immediately hated him. The man emitted a boastful air, prideful and dangerous, something dark in his eyes and a negative energy crackling around him. He approached the opposite edge of the lake and spread his arms wide, looking between the two of them cheerfully.

“Hello, lovelies! Shall I take a hand in marriage, today?”

“No,” both of the princes answered in unison, strong and resounding, and Jeremy smiled- it fell when he saw Edgar only shake his head and sigh.

“I thought we’d learned, by now?” He started to walk around the edge of the lake. The water rippled when he stepped close enough to it, and Jeremy could see Gavin almost shivering in time with the ripples. “Someday, one of you is going to have to agree. And the other will go free, as easy as possible, with no trouble behind him!”

He continued to approach the both of them. Jeremy could see how visibly distressed Gavin was, and how furious Ryan was. Edgar came close enough to touch and both princes stiffened. The mage smiled again and reached up, brushing his fingers across Gavin’s chin. “Don’t you fucking touch him,” Ryan snapped.

“I chose you two for _reasons_ ,” Edgar said, pulling his hand away and sighing. “Gavin was a beautiful little thing, flighty and full of laughter. Simply lovely, of course. And Ryan had that strength and power about him, a handsome and wonderful choice. You two have your qualities and either way, I can’t lose!”

“Unless someone saves us,” Gavin murmured, gripping tightly to Ryan’s cloak.

Edgar whipped around, anger simmering from every part of him, and Jeremy flinched back from where he was. “How many times do I have to tell you, Gavin? _You are not leaving_. No one is coming to save you, no one ever can- we’ve been over this how many times? How many people have to die at your hand, boy? How many people do you have to sacrifice before you accept your fate? You _will_ marry me. You will stay here. Or you will die as a filthy _fucking_ animal, and no one will remember you as anything but that.”

He turned on his heel and stomped almost childishly towards the castle again. “I’ll give you until tomorrow night to consider that. Maybe Ryan can talk some fucking sense into you.”

The door slammed shut, there was another clank, and after a few solid seconds of silence Gavin burst into sobs, shaking against Ryan as the other prince turned and held him in his arms. Jeremy gave it a few more moments before slowly climbing back over the fence and approaching them. 

Ryan glanced up at him, terrible sadness in his eyes as he shook his head. 

“We can’t do this much longer,” he said, quietly, Gavin still crying in his arms. Jeremy nodded in agreement, and thought about what he’d seen, who he’d met tonight. This wasn’t right. And they didn’t deserve to deal with it anymore.

His mind was made up.

“You won’t have to for long,” he said, utterly sure of himself. Ryan inhaled shakily, but smiled anyways, nodding. Against his chest, Gavin turned, eyes watery, hair and feathers ruffled, and whispered a quiet thank you.

The thief reached out his hand in promise, and the princes both reach over and squeezed.

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr!](http://transvav.tumblr.com)  
> [the full and beautiful tag](http://transvav.tumblr.com/tagged/swan-lake-au) from which i hope more works will spawn from.  
>  i love comments and kudos because they are the only thing keeping my poor heart alive. save a college student. leave a comment. yell at me.


End file.
